Helmet



Aug. 18, 1942.

J. T. RIDDELL, SR, E.TAL

HELMET Filed A ril 11, 1940 werzza;

Patented Aug. 18, 1942 OFFICE dell, Jr.,. Wheaton, 111., as'signor's to John T; Riddjell', Inc1.,'Chicago, 111;, a, corporation of, II-

linois Application? Aprildi, 1940; Seria Naezaoso,

4-Claims.

This invention relates: generally to protective headgears and refers more particularly to; improvements in headwear. of the typetemployed in, connectionrwith athleticrwear, such. as foot,- ball helmets.

Some of] the principal. objects; of this, invention are to simplify and' torender more efficient, and toimproveiprotective headwear generally by providing a helmet device which shall be relatively light in weight and which shall be constructed to afford maximum comfort, and which also shall possess sufiicient strength to adequately protect the head of the wearer. Another object is to better impart visually distinctive characteristics to a football helmet or set of helmets, for more ready identification of team and players.

Other objects are to provide a helmet of this character which shall be molded of transparent plastic material; to provide such a helmet which may be painted, decorated or otherwise embellished on the inside surface for outside visibility; to provide such a helmet having a felt-like inside finish over the decoration; and to provide a helmet of this character which shall be simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

Heretofore, helmets, particularly football helmets have been constructed of leather, and football teams have found it expedient to distinctively color them by painting or gilding the outside surface thereof so as to readily distinguish their team mates from their opponents. This practice has been growing constantly until today the painted helmet is almost universally accepted as standard equipment for a football player. The disadvantages of painting the outer surface of the helmet are numerous, the most important one being that the paint applied to the outer surface of the helmet is very rapidly effaced because of the constant rubbing of the helmet on the ground, as during tackles, etc. Also, as football is played mainly in the fall and early winter seasons, the game is usually played in inclement weather, and hence the helmets often require a coating of mud and dirt and lose their distinctive colors. It was to cure this defect that this part of the invention, relating to the application of a permanent color was designed. I

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a football helmet.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the medial top portion of our helmet illustrating the beveled joints of the two component sectionszandreinforcing strip, priorto being secured together.

Fig.3: is. a cross section. taken on. the line 3-3 of Fig; 1, through one side where the sound opening is provided.

Referring further to the drawing, my new helmet comprises a crown or body I molded to the desired shape. The material usedv is a transparent; plastic-whicnmay or may not; be bonded. The material must have the characteristics of being transparent and be readily moldable, hence, some of the commercial plastics made from cellulose nitrates, cellulose acetates and vinyl resin (unfilled) may be satisfactorily used in molding our shell. These plastics are commercially known as Celluloid, Fiberloid, Pyralin, Tenite, Lumarith, Fibestos, Plastacele, Lucite, Crystalite and Vinylite. It is to be understood that there may be other plastics which may have the characteristics we desire, the names of which are unknown to us at the present time, but which may be satisfactorily employed in carrying out our invention. Hence, we do not desire to be limited to the use of those specifically mentioned herein.

In forming the crown or body I, we have found it preferable to mold it in two, right and left, sections 2 and 3 each section being provided with a beveled edge as indicated at 4 and 5 respectively. The two beveled edges 4 and 5 are fitted together and adhesively joined by the application of the same plastic employed in forming the sections. The plastic used as an adhesive is of course, in liquid form when applied and is generally shown by the numeral 6., A reinforcing band 1 of plastic material is secured to the crown over the joint in the same manner as employed in joining sections and 3. The adhesive for this is shown generally by numeral 8.

As illustrated, the crown is formed with a, portion 9 designed to extend around the back of the head of the wearer and is also formed with ear protecting portions H] at opposite sides. Each of said portions I0 is provided with suitable openings II to come opposite the ears, so that the hearing of the person wearing the helmet will not be interfered with. The crown is also formed with a forehead and temple protecting portion l2 adapted to extend down over the forehead and temples of the wearer so as to completely protect them.

After the sections 2 and 3 are joined as aforesaid, we spray the inside surface thereof with a paint, lacquer or other pigment medium, as indicated at l3 to distinctively color, decorate or embellish the same. Next, we spray a felt-like inside finish l4 over the decoration, paint or embellishment to protect the wearer of the helmet from having any direct contact with the paint, lacquer or other medium. This coating l4 also protects the paint and lacquer to insure the lasting qualities thereof.

It will now be seen that the helmet appears exteriorlyaccording to its inside color coating. The color being applied to the inside surface of the helmet cannot be effaced by the play conditions generally prevalent.

Suitable bands and straps l5 are secured to the inside of the helmet. These provide for vertical suspension and lateral support. They'are formed and adapted to fit snugly to the head and they space the protective shells of the helmet a slight distance from the head. The helmet is also provided with the usual chin. strap [6.

Although we have shown and described the helmet as being molded preferably in two sections joined together, still it is to be understood that it may be molded autogenously in onepiece.

It is to beunderstood that some of the details set forth may be altered or omitted without departure from the spirit of our invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1.- In a device of the class described a molded transparent shell of plastic material conform- .ner surface of said shell and a felt-like finish on the inner surface of said shell coating whereby characteristic coloring is imparted to the exterior of said shell.

3. A helmet, comprising a pair of half shells of hard plastic material having overlapping complementally scarfed meeting margins, and a facing strip of plastic material covering said overlapping margins, said shells and strip being securely joined to each other.

4. A helmet, comprising a pair of half shells of hard transparent plastic material having overlapping complementally scarfed meeting margins, a facing strip of plastic material covering said overlapping margins, said shells and strip being securely joined to each other, a coating of pigment covering the inner surface of said shell, and a felted coating covering said pigment.

JOHN T. RIDDELL, SR. JOHN T. RIDDELL, JR. 

